QuestRun

Review

A Social Game Without Any Social Interaction

The Poison Of Social Network Gaming

Before I get into picking apart everything wrong with this game, and praising what little is done correctly, I have to say that when I saw some of the positive reactions from other gamers out there I was expecting one thing and one thing only: fun. I was expecting a simplistic, yet enjoyable roguelike RPG focused on the battles with a slight overture disguising a grindfest as an actual quest. What I encountered was anything but fun.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. To the people who actually managed to enjoy this game I tip my hat to you and I'm sincerely glad you have no remorse in your purchase. To me however, this is not even a game I would give to someone to subtly say "I hate you". What Cuve Games has delivered in this product is a bad-aftertaste of the poison of 'games' (and I use that term loosely) that has been plaguing social networking sites for a few years now, but they couldn't even manage to live up to that not-so-envious position. While it's set up like a boring, humdrum social network time-sapping title, it neither requires nor encourages any actual social interaction to progress. What it does require, is that your eyes bleed from boredom and for you to occasionally use an item or special ability.

Welcome To The Tutorial - It's Pretty Much The Game

So when you first start up the game, you're given the choice of two tutorial levels, both of which you'll end up doing anyway so the choice is irrelevant. One choice will have you fighting goblins, while the other has you fighting what is described as 'unionized peasants' which are exactly as they sound. Unionized peasants, fit with the stereotypical slack-jaw appearance and 'you bad, me no like you' mentality. That is pretty much where this game's humor begins and ends. That's where it peaks, so hopefully they weren't trying to go for a humorous title (though at times it definitely seems like that's what the aim was.) From the start you will notice that while the art style can be very appealing... almost no effort went into any actual animation.

Enemies' attacks can be summed up with them moving slightly forward, and your character taking damage. No matter what type of enemy or what sort of attack is being used, apparently the universal way of attacking in the QuestRun universe is a lazy half-step forward followed by some numbers dropping. It doesn't get much better for the player party. Oh sure, there are actually animations for them but they are so minimal they might as well have not had them at all, because it fails to mask that they simply didn't care enough to follow through with the animations for everything.

But at least the combat itself is fun and challenging right? Well, no it's neither of those things. QuestRun is literally a title where the majority of your time will be spent watching your characters auto attack while you VERY RARELY have to move their positions on the battlefield and, if you're lucky, you'll have to use a health potion or special ability. I wish there was more to tell you about class variety, ability variety, and other things that you'd think would be in a game centered around RPG combat specifically but it's simply not there.

But Wait, Thereís More!

Actually no, there isn't. You see, QuestRun is focused around the battle aspect of an RPG without having anything else. The 'quests' are quite simply surviving through waves of enemies on different levels, and then on occasion you fight a boss or protect an NPC as you work your way through. That's it. No really, that's all there is to this game. With no real gameplay, no story, no drive to continue the moment you realise that you're literally doing the EXACT SAME THING for multiple levels with absolutely no thought to the process, QuestRun easily rubbed me the wrong way; because it's exactly the type of game that plagues social network sites, and now it's leaking over into actual gaming!? But the kicker is, as I said, at least the games on those sites encourage some form of interacting with your friends and strangers to continue; QuestRun does not.

So essentially, what QuestRun is is a a game that aspires to be everything that is currently wrong with the internet craze of social networking, without putting forth the effort to actually make it so. I have to reiterate, if you enjoy this title then by all means I tip my hat to you, and I am glad you enjoy it. But for me personally, there was no enjoyment here, and all I saw was the glaring flaws presented on a stained silver platter. As a saving grace, I could see this game being better enjoyed by a much younger age group, as it does display bright colors and it would be a good 'learning' game for them before they get into more difficult and engaging games later on, and yes that was a sincere comment and not a veiled insult. I sincerely hope that Cuve Game's next project manages to be much more than this, that much is for certain.

3.0

fun score

Pros

Would probably be better enjoyed by a younger age group.

Cons

Automated Repetition With Zero Thought Encouragement, Half-Baked Animations, Set Up Like A Social Game Without Any Social Interaction.